


A Mother's Love

by Dangerously_Demonic



Series: The Legacy of Darth Letum [7]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Ben Solo feels, Family Feels, Feels, Gen, Mild Episode 7 spoilers, So I had to write it, The prompt made my friend ree
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-18
Updated: 2018-01-18
Packaged: 2019-03-06 12:23:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13411182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dangerously_Demonic/pseuds/Dangerously_Demonic
Summary: It's been over ten years since Leia last saw Ben. Despite what has happened, she never lost hope that he would return home...And now, he finally has.SW AU; Post Ep 8 with mild Ep 7 spoilers.





	A Mother's Love

It had been over ten years since Leia had last seen Ben in person, holocalls from when he was at Luke’s Jedi Temple notwithstanding. Quietly, she stood at the window of the small meeting room and watched the beads of rain roll down the window. As she stood there, hands clasped in front of her, she lightly fiddled with one of her rings. The action was a habit she had picked up in her younger years to help soothe anxiety over various things. 

Sometimes, it had been over Senatorial related things, such as votes. Other times, personal things, namely Han and his races. Today? It was over meeting her wayward son. Clayton had been vague about a lot of things, but had alluded to the ideas that Snoke hadn’t been particularly kind to Ben. This didn’t surprise her in the least bit, but she worried over how severe it had been.

When Master and Apprentice finally arrived, she stood there and examined her son’s face. He had changed since she’d last seen him. Battle scarred and weary, his face carefully neutral but the tightness around his eyes betraying a hidden fear. And his eyes…She could see so much of Han in him and it made her heart ache for the man she had married, but she understood why Han had done what he had. He did it to save their son, and he had.

She walked over with the intention of hugging him but was stopped by a creature which had snaked in front of Ben and gave her a warning hiss. Ben seemed to be as surprised as she was and lightly nudged the creature with his foot.

“It’s okay, Fox.”

The beast with a seemingly perpetual grin tilted its head back and glanced between the two of them, somehow able to focus despite being eyeless. It finally made a chirpy warble before slinking off to investigate the rest of the room. Leia curiously watched it for a moment, knowing it was likely one of Clayton’s pets, but her focus soon went back to Ben.

The rest of the evening was spent catching up, being informed on how Ben’s training was going, and the occasional proud brag from Clayton…A man not known for giving praise freely. Through all of this, she watched the interaction between Ben and Fox. The smiles her son made were rarely happy and almost seemed pained. At times, she saw him trying to hide some type of emotion, and when this happened Fox would demand attention of some sort. Almost immediately, Ben would start petting or giving the beast scritches. More than once, she saw a genuine smile of happiness.

Truthfully, she found the creature strange and a bit unsettling at times. Clayton called it a ‘Xenomorph’, but whatever it might be, she could tell that it was both protective of him and he adored it. If Fox helped Ben with whatever inner demons he was facing, then who was she to judge?

At some point, Fox had wandered over to her, curious about who she was. Clayton had been hauled off down the hall due to Ben wanting to show him something. Frowning slightly, she ran a hand over the creature’s domed head and was given a cooing clicking noise in response. After a moment, she gave Fox a small, sad smile. It was obvious to her that Ben and Fox understood each other in some fashion. The relationship was very similar to what Han and Chewie had developed over the years. The thought was a painful one, but the entire visit had brought up many memories that she would have preferred not to think about. Ben was so much like Han and she really wasn't sure if her son realized this.

Finally, she lightly scratched Fox under the chin, “Fox, take care of Ben for me.”

She didn’t know the sentience level of the creature, but something told her that the message was received and understood.


End file.
